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Advice needed - Screen Size

760 views 12 replies 6 participants last post by  bud16415 
#1 ·
I have a room that is going to be used for a home theater and I am trying to figure out what size and aspect ratio the screen should be.

The projector would likely be an Epson 6050


The wall is 150" wide, and I using a pair of Focal Sopra No2 speakers for the LR and a Sopra Center. I figure that the max width I could have is 100" wide. The ceiling is 8' tall.

Video content will be mixed between movies and TV. The room is 16 ft deep, i figure the couch will be 12-13ft back. That being said, should I do a 2.4 cinemascope screen or a 16:9?
 
#2 ·
Do you watch more movies, or more TV/Games?



Could you build a false screen all and put your speakers behind an AT screen? Perhaps not with only 16'.
 
#4 ·
I watch tv and movies about the same. I am thinking of optimizing for having the largest screen that is comfortable to watch.

The room is way too small for building a false wall.


All I can suggest is don't even consider a screen until you have the projector setup. Use the wall or temporary screen for a few weeks at least so you can get used to it and decide for your self what works for you. Looks like you have a 12' x 8' space with large L/R mains so a 16:9 would be my choice but its so subjective that only you can decide what works for you as others opinions and industry standards are worthless.
Thats not a bad idea. It never occurred to me.
 
#3 ·
All I can suggest is don't even consider a screen until you have the projector setup. Use the wall or temporary screen for a few weeks at least so you can get used to it and decide for your self what works for you. Looks like you have a 12' x 8' space with large L/R mains so a 16:9 would be my choice but its so subjective that only you can decide what works for you as others opinions and industry standards are worthless.
 
#5 ·
i definitely second the waiting until you've played around with the projector suggestion. my first screen came bundled with my projector, so that wasn't an option for me and i ended up replacing it with a smaller screen about a year later. after doing that, i discovered that what felt 'too big' for me was completely dependent on the screen height. the perfect solution for me is really CIH, but i've never had a room wide enough for it to truly make sense.

if i'm understanding your situation correctly, you basically have a square area (100 x 96 inches) to place your screen. That means you are limited more by the width than the height, in which case i suspect a 16:9 screen is going to be a better option for you. as long as you don't feel a 16:9 image is too large when 100inches wide, as i suspect you will want that 2.35:1 image the full 100" wide if possible.

i guess what i'm saying is, you probably want your screen as wide as you can go in that 100inch space. And you might as well make it a 16:9 format, unless you discover after some trial that a 100" wide 16:9 image is too large.

2.35:1 screens really make sense in rooms that are much wider than they are tall. If you've got a room that's like 15feet wide with 8 ft ceilings for example. but it really is a personal preference kind of thing, and only you shining some light on the wall/bedsheets for a few days/weeks will be able to tell you what you like.
 
#6 ·
I used to think the same and still do to some extent in some rooms.

But in theory every room is big enough to do any presentation you want as long as you are open to using the right seating distance. People normally place some seats down where they look right and then say my image is to small or the room not wide enough. When you think about it in terms of immersion level things change.

As an example my room is pretty small we have 4 seats in a single row and with the projector backed up to the wall we get 110” 16:9 screen. it was more than large enough for 1.84 movies or even TV it was just a little small for 2.35 movies and IMAX was too small. I really wanted a 120” image but that was imposable with our projector and it is a shorter throw. I moved our seating one foot closer and it was perfect for doing CIH+IMAX in terms of immersion.

Of course there are limits I’m not suggesting people sit 2’ from a 32” TV and call it a home theater, but within some range starting around 100”-110” depending on the person a cinematic feeling can be had by adjusting immersion and using FP. :)
 
#11 ·
the PIA as you call it seems like a good workaround for not having multiple rows.

i think i'm a little too picky about having a 'floating screen' to implement that system though. My parents, just yesterday actually, flipped their theater from long and narrow to wide and short and are now projecting on their grey wall after i suggested it. They have a two row set up with the rear seats on a large riser. My mom wanted to get rid of the riser, which meant either getting rid of half the seats, or flipping the room around. It's a massive compromise though, like literally every decision and every piece of furniture and gear in that room was bought and installed with the long and narrow implementation in mind. It's too bad, because had it been done from the start, the wide and short orientation would have been a great layout for them.
 
#13 ·
Sounds like your parents are moving in the direction I did.

Yes the time to think about all this is before you spend the first penny. Some of us get a redo when we build one theater and then move to a new house and can try again.

As @Dave in Green mentioned in the above post no one can suggest for another’s tastes in size and AR. The one exception might be me as I have no fixed size and no fixed AR. We often see suggested to experiment on a blank wall as a way to figure out what you want. I took that to heart and made that my presentation system and then automated it.
:D
 
#12 ·
Asking others what screen image size is right for you at your viewing distance is a little like asking others what their favorite color is. You'll never get a unanimous opinion because different people have different favorite colors just as they have different favorite image sizes at any given viewing distance. The best advice as others have already suggested is to let your own eyes tell you what your favorite is. If at all possible experiment with different image sizes on a plain painted wall and find the size that best fits your preference of big enough to be cinematic and immersive without being so big as to cause eyestrain. This varies from individual to individual so there's no magic formula that works for all. Cases can also be made for all screen aspect ratios. Each has a different set of pros and cons, and those who've found the one that works best for them often argue persuasively that it's the best aspect ratio for everyone. Each person needs to think through the pros and cons of each and decide which set of pros and cons best suits their individual needs and preferences.
 
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